Strangers in Their own Land超越了尋常的自由主義概念，這個概念誤導人們投下違背他們利益的選票。相反的，作者發現這些被剝奪的生活，乃是因為停滯的薪資、失去家園、以及虛無飄渺的美國夢所造成，這些人的政治選擇與觀點，從他們艱困生活的脈絡中看來，就顯得很有道理。Hochschild以她在情緒社會學的專長幫助我們理解，生活在"紅色"美國是什麼樣的感受。這一路下來，她回答了當代美國政治學中，一個非常重要的問題，那就是：為什麼從自由政府干預中獲利最多的人，反而最憎恨那樣的理念？2016 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST FOR NONFICTION

"This is a smart, respectful and compelling book."—New York Times

"Strangers in Their Own Land is extraordinary for its consistent empathy and the attention it pays to the emotional terrain of politics. It is billed as a book for this moment, but it will endure."—Newsday

“Remarkable…. Hochschild gives a rich and vivid picture of the emotional and social life.. in the American South.”—Los Angeles Review of Books

[Hochschild’s] connection and kindness to the people she meets is what makes this book so powerful.—Minneapolis Star Tribune

"An astute study of America’s 'culture war' drawn from the perspective of the white conservatives who feel they are losing it.”—Economist

In Strangers in Their Own Land, the renowned sociologist Arlie Hochschild embarks on a thought-provoking journey from her liberal hometown of Berkeley, California, deep into Louisiana bayou country—a stronghold of the conservative right. As she gets to know people who strongly oppose many of the ideas she famously champions, Hochschild nevertheless finds common ground and quickly warms to the people she meets—among them a Tea Party activist whose town has been swallowed by a sinkhole caused by a drilling accident—people whose concerns are actually ones that all Americans share: the desire for community, the embrace of family, and hopes for their children.

Strangers in Their Own Land goes beyond the commonplace liberal idea that these are people who have been duped into voting against their own interests. Instead, Hochschild finds lives ripped apart by stagnant wages, a loss of home, an elusive American dream—and political choices and views that make sense in the context of their lives. Hochschild draws on her expert knowledge of the sociology of emotion to help us understand what it feels like to live in “red” America. Along the way she finds answers to one of the crucial questions of contemporary American politics: why do the people who would seem to benefit most from “liberal” government intervention abhor the very idea?